article-time-estimate-icon

3 minute read

Lupl Announces Global Release

Matt Pollins

Matt Pollins

Screenshots of inside Lupl app
In this article

    The collaboration platform for the legal industry, developed with the support of a group of leading law firms and legal departments, is designed to uncomplicate the way lawyers and clients work together.

    November 2, 2021 – Lupl, the collaboration platform for the legal industry, today announces its global release and pricing.

    This release makes the platform available to the wider industry for the first time, with users from law firms and legal departments able to sign up for free and in less than 60 seconds through the newly launched website at www.lupl.com and iOS app.

    Lupl is a shared workspace that eases the challenges law firms and legal departments typically encounter when working on legal matters within and between organizations. In addition to a native suite of communications, collaboration, document sharing, and legal project and knowledge management capabilities, Lupl integrates with many of the most popular third-party tools, including Microsoft Teams, Slack, iManage, Net Documents, SharePoint, OneDrive for Business, Google Drive, Zoom, DocuSign, and Litera compareDocs.

    Lupl has been in early adopter mode since April, following the completion of a successful private beta test in 2020. Law firms, legal departments, and other legal organizations in more than 30 countries are already on-board with industry interest from across the globe continuing to grow.

    Jeff Green, Lupl’s Chief Executive Officer, said:

    “We’ve been counting down the days with great anticipation to make our collaboration platform more widely available, and to welcome more legal departments, law firms and other legal market participants to the international Lupl community.

    “We’re grateful to our advisory board, customers and partners who have worked so closely with us during our beta and early adopter programs to bring us to this point.”

    Lupl’s “bring your own system” design approach allows organizations to connect the platform with a range of tools and systems. For example, in addition to Lupl’s web, mobile and desktop apps, organizations who use Microsoft Teams will be able to leverage Lupl’s functionality as a native Teams app.

    Rima Reyes, Principal Program Manager in the Teams Ecosystem at Microsoft, comments:

    “Lupl is continuing to digitally transform the international legal community. With the new Lupl app for Microsoft Teams, lawyers can easily bring all the moving parts of a legal matter – documents, status, scope, and tasks – together in one place.”

    Law firms can invite their clients to join matters for free; similarly, legal departments can invite outside counsel and non-legal department users to collaborate at no additional cost.

    The Lupl technology was co-developed by a multinational community of legal departments, law firms and other industry stakeholders who in 2018 identified a major pain point around legal matter collaboration and agreed to pool knowledge and resources to solve it. The technology was spun off as an independent company in 2019 after investment from CMS, Cooley and Rajah & Tann Asia.

    Adam Ruttenberg, Cooley partner and Chair of the firm’s technology committee, comments:

    “As a firm committed to superior quality, service and innovation, we believe that a platform like Lupl is what our lawyers need. Through beta testing and early adopter programs, we’ve seen how Lupl helps our lawyers and clients stay on the same page, providing enhanced communication, collaboration and document sharing and enabling our lawyers to act as a seamless extension of our clients’ teams.”

    Note to Editors:

    Other Comments

    Lee Eng Beng, Senior Counsel and Chairperson of Rajah & Tann Asia, comments:

    “Adoption has grown faster than anything we’ve experienced for any other legal technology platform. We’ve found that the simplicity of the user interface and the ability to integrate with our document management system have meant we’ve been able to get this rolled out across our firm quickly and without the need for heavy training.”

    Duncan Weston, Executive Partner at CMS, comments:

    “As a future-facing law firm involved in Lupl since the beginning, we have eagerly followed the platform’s trajectory from concept to reality. Lupl transforms how we work within the firm and with clients.”

    Media Contacts

    United States: Howard Breuer, Newsroom PR, (213) 442-2738, howard@newsroompr.com

    UK: James Terry, Headland, + 44 7941 829582, lupl@headlandconsultancy.com

    Rest of World & General Contact: Victoria Sabin, Lupl Communications, + 44 7971 430244, victoria@loopl.net

    About Lupl

    Lupl, the definitive collaboration platform for legal, uncomplicates the way legal professionals and their clients work together within and between organizations. The platform combines powerful native communication, collaboration and legal project management functionality with the option to plug and play with a range of integrated document, communication, knowledge and other third-party systems.

    The company launched in May 2020 and spun off from a collaboration between three major global law firms, CMS, Cooley and Rajah & Tann Asia. Lupl’s platform for legal was developed with input from an advisory board of 16 leading in-house lawyers from a range of companies including blue chip multinationals through to the world’s fastest growing tech companies. The wider law firm testing group included Slaughter and May, Corrs Chambers Westgarth in Australia, Khaitan & Co in India and One Essex Court, a leading barristers’ chambers in London.

    For further information about Lupl, go to www.lupl.com.

    In this article

      More legal tech insights we think you'll love

      The cost of over-dependence on AI

      AI saves us time, boosts productivity, and lets us do...

      # Lupl Workstream Design Principles: A Practical Guide to Legal Project Management for Lawyers Legal project management works when your setup is simple, ownership is clear, and statuses are unambiguous. This guide shows how to turn existing processes and checklists into a lean, reliable Workstream. Lupl is the legal project management platform for law firms, making it easy and intuitive to apply these principles. It also supports moving your work from Excel, Word tables, or if you are transitioning from Microsoft Planner, Smartsheet, or Monday. You will learn what belongs in a Workstream, a Task, or a Step, and which columns to use. If you want practical project management for lawyers, start here. **Excerpt:** Legal project management works when ownership, dates, and statuses are clear. This guide shows lawyers how to turn checklists into Lupl Workstreams with the right columns, Tasks, and Steps. Use it to standardize project management for lawyers, reduce follow ups, and move matters to done. --- ## How to organize your work with Workstreams, Tasks, and Steps Workstreams, Tasks, and Steps are three different types of objects in Lupl. They form a simple hierarchy. Workstreams contain Tasks. Tasks may contain optional Steps. This hierarchy aligns with standard project management. In project management, you break work into projects, deliverables, and subtasks. Lupl adapts this for lawyers by using Workstreams, Tasks, and Steps. This makes it easier to map legal processes to a structure that teams can track and manage. * **Workstream.** Use when you have many similar or related items to track over time. Think of the Workstream as the table. * Examples: closing checklist, court deadlines, pretrial preparation, regulatory obligations, due diligence, local counsel management. * **Task.** A high level unit of legal work. A key deliverable with an owner and a due date. Tasks are the rows. * Examples: File motion. Prepare Shareholder Agreement. Submit Q3 report. * **Step.** An optional short checklist inside a single Task. Steps roll up to the parent Task. * Examples: Draft. QC. Partner review. E file. Serve. ### Quick test * If it can be overdue by itself, make it a Task. * If it only helps complete a Task, make it a Step. * If you need different columns or owners, create a separate Workstream. --- ## Do you need to track everything in Lupl Not every detail needs to be tracked in a project management system. The principle is to capture what drives accountability and progress. In Lupl, that means focusing on deliverables, not every micro action. * Use the level of detail you would bring to a weekly team meeting agenda. * Position Tasks as key deliverables. Treat Steps as optional micro tasks to show progress. * Example: You need client instructions. Do not add a Task for "Email client to request a call." Just make the call. If the client approves a key deliverable on the call, mark that item Approved in Lupl so the team has visibility. --- ## Start with the Core 5 columns Columns are the backbone of a Workstream. They define what information is tracked for each Task. In project management terms, these are your core metadata fields. They keep everyone aligned without overcomplicating the table. Keep the table narrow. You can add later. These five work across most legal project management use cases. 1. **Title.** Start with a verb. Example: File answer to complaint. 2. **Status.** Five to seven clear choices. Example: Not started, In progress, For review, For approval, Done. 3. **Assignee.** One named owner per row. If you add multiple assignees for collaboration, still name a primary owner. 4. **Due date.** One date per row. 5. **Type or Category.** Show different kinds of work in one table. Example: Filing, Discovery, Signature, Approval. **Priority.** Add only if you actively triage by priority each week. If added, keep it simple: High, Medium, Low. --- ## Add up to three Helper columns Lupl includes a set of pre made columns you can use out of the box. These allow you to customize Workstreams around different phases or stages of a matter. They also let you map how you already track transactional work, litigation, or other processes. Helper columns are optional fields that add context. In task management, these are similar to tags or attributes you use to sort and filter work. The key is to only add what you will update and use. Pick only what you will use. Stop when you reach three. * Party or Counterparty * Jurisdiction or Court * Phase * Approver * Approval, status or yes or no * Signature status * Risk, RAG * Amount or Number * External ID or Client ID * Document or Link * Docket number * Client entity **Guidance** * For Task Workstreams, prefer Approver, Approval, Risk. The rest are more common in Custom Workstreams. * Aim for eight columns or fewer in your main table. Put detail in the Task description, attachments, or Steps. --- ## Simple rules that keep your table clean Consistency is critical in project management. A cluttered or inconsistent table slows teams down. These rules ensure your Workstream remains usable and clear. * Only add a column people will update during the matter. If it never changes, set a default at the Workstream level or set a default value in the column. * Only add a column you will sort or filter on. If you will not use it to find or group work, leave it out. * If a value changes inside one Task, use Steps. Steps show progress without widening the table. * Keep columns short and structured. Use Description for brief context or instructions. Use Task comments for discussion and decisions. Link to work product in your DMS as the source of truth. * One accountable owner per Task and one due date. You can add collaborators, but always name a primary owner who moves the Task. If different people or dates apply to different parts, split into separate Tasks or capture the handoff as Steps. * Add automations after you lock the design. Finalize columns and status definitions first. Then add simple reminders and escalations that read those fields. --- ## Status hygiene that everyone understands Status is the single most important column in project management. It tells the team where the work stands. Too many options cause confusion. Too few cause misalignment. In Lupl, keep it simple and consistent. * Five to seven statuses are enough. * Use one review gate, For review or For approval. Use both only if your process needs two gates. * One terminal status, Done. This is the end state of the Task. Use Archived only if you report on it or need it for retention workflows. --- ## When to split into multiple Workstreams In project management, it is best practice to separate workstreams when workflows, owners, or audiences diverge. Lupl makes this easy by letting you create multiple Workstreams for one matter. Create a new Workstream if any of the following are true. * You need a different set of columns for a chunk of work. * Ownership or cadence is different, for example daily docketing vs monthly reporting. * The audience or confidentiality needs are different. **Signal** * If half your rows leave several columns blank, you are mixing processes. Split the table. --- ## Decision tree, three quick questions Use this quick framework to decide where an item belongs. This is the same principle used in task management software, adapted for legal workflows. 1. Is this a list of similar items over time, or a discrete phase of the matter * Yes. Create a Workstream. 2. Can it be overdue by itself, and does it need an owner * Yes. Create a Task. 3. Is it a step to finish a Task and not tracked on its own * Yes. Create a Step. --- ## Common mistakes to avoid Many project management failures come from overdesigning or misusing the structure. Avoid these mistakes to keep your Workstreams lean and effective. * Wide tables with many optional columns. Keep it to eight or fewer. * Two columns for the same idea, for example Status and Phase that overlap. Merge or define clearly. * More than one approval gate when one would do. It slows work and confuses owners. * Mixing unrelated processes in one table, for example signatures and invoice approvals. --- ## Build your first Workstream Building a Workstream is like setting up a project board. Keep it light, pilot it, then refine. Lupl is designed to let you do this quickly without heavy admin work. 1. Write the Workstream purpose in one sentence. 2. Add the Core 5 columns. 3. Add at most three Helpers you will use. 4. Define clear Status meanings in plain words. 5. Set defaults for any value that repeats on most rows, for example Jurisdiction. 6. Add two light automations, a due soon reminder and an overdue nudge. 7. Pilot for one week and adjust. --- ## Where this fits in legal project management Use these principles to standardize project management for lawyers across matters. Keep structures consistent. Reuse column sets and status definitions. Your team will find work faster, reduce follow ups, and close loops on time. --- ### On page SEO helpers * Suggested title tag. Lupl Workstream Design Principles, Practical Legal Project Management for Lawyers * Suggested meta description. Learn how to design lean Lupl Workstreams for legal project management. Get clear rules for Tasks, Steps, statuses, and columns to run matters with confidence. * Suggested URL slug. legal-project-management-for-lawyers-workstream-design

      Lupl Workstream Design Principles: A Practical Guide to Legal Project Management for Lawyers

      Learn why large‑firm lawyers are ditching Excel checklists for dynamic,...

      Do AI Agents Have An Identity? Notes from InfoSec Discussions

      Agentic AI is in its early phases but advancing fast....